Realising your potential using the RDF
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The workshop I ran for the Faculty of Humanities at University of Manchester on 23 November 2012. It explores how to use the RDF to assess and evidence your skills and the benefits of engaging with your professional development planning
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Realising your potential using the RDF
- 1. Realising your potential using the Researcher Development Framework Dr Emma Gillaspy, Vitae NW Hub Manager
- 2. Objectives An introduction to the RDF and how it can be used to: prepare for one-on-one reviews with your supervisor or principal investigator about your development as a researcher identify your strengths and areas for further development provide a language to evidence your skills to current and future employers
- 3. Are you engaged in PDP? PDP is… “A structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development.”
- 4. PDP cycle Evidence Review Reflection progress “We do not learn Identify from experience, we learn from reflecting needs on experience” John Dewey
- 5. Why bother with PDP?
- 6. Why bother with PDP? Understanding how you „tick‟: Strengths Weaknesses Directions for change Learning style Responsibility for your own development Articulate your skills and knowledge Focus, motivation, confidence Make more informed choices www.palgrave.com/skills4study/pdp www.vitae.ac.uk/careers
- 7. What makes a successful researcher? What: Knowledge Skills Qualities Behaviours Etc would they exhibit?
- 8. Researcher Development Framework (RDF) RDF is an operational framework for planning, promoting and supporting the personal, professional and career development of researchers How was it created? Core of the framework consists of data drawn from over 100 interviews Phenomenographic method* – identified over 1,000 characteristics and their variants Input from experts, specialists and stakeholders Clustered into the 4 main areas or Domains * See http://www.vitae.ac.uk/policy-practice/167281/Background-documents.html for further details on method.
- 10. A2 - Cognitive abilities PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 PHASE 4 PHASE 5 Identifies new trends, Formulates complex Isolates and applies questions Leads a research basic solutions to and broader agenda by making major themes of a range of problems; contributions to Problem solving own research designs understanding. research; problems substantial Asks the pertinent formulates and projects. questions and designs basic effectively Challenges projects that challenge research analyses particular traditional thinking in questions and hypotheses general and progress and interprets and refines research themes. hypotheses. research them in the results. light of results.
- 11. D3 - Engagement and impact PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 PHASE 4 PHASE 5 Facilitates opportunities for public dialogue, Contributes to connects with users promoting the public of research and understanding of beneficiaries; leads one‟s research area. major public Actively seeks ways engagement Understands and to realise projects and funding appreciates the opportunities for applications. value of engaging public engagement. Helps to shape the Public engagement with the public, Facilitates public‟s conception Establishes public engagement willingly participates. engagement with of research. reputation, gives strategic support, Open to influence of others, leads on Facilitates a promotes projects and supports funding public interactions local opportunities, dialogue between applications. on own work. is involved with the public and Is known advocate for public Responds to local national researchers; engagement in discipline/research area; opportunities and programmes; makes educates, advises Occupies specific public engagement existing activities; appropriate use of and guides less post(s) or personal chair. presents aspects of external support for experienced research at public these activities. researchers about events. Recognises the the importance of mutual benefit of public engagement. engagement to Initiates activities; research, building track record researchers and the of public public. engagement.
- 12. Strengths of the RDF From you for you Use of a common language National consistency International competitiveness Independent resource Highlights value of developmental opportunities Supports you to take control
- 13. How the RDF can help you Personal and professional development Understand your strengths Identify areas for development Set goals Self-assessment and review Job applications Thinking about promotions Transferable skills… Broadens your view of available career options
- 14. www.vitae.ac.uk/rdfplanner Choose a domain for self-assessment Access your report and other resources
- 19. I‟ve always thought of myself as being quite ambitious, driven and focussed on what I want, but the framework made me realise I can have a much larger visions. It was very good for me to reflect. The RDF will encourage me to be I realised that nothing is stopping more proactive about my career me but myself. The sky is the development as it provides me with a limit. framework (list of milestones). Think about staging the Read it carefully and be targets; what can I do honest about where you smarter, what training do are. You don‟t always I need to request and have to aim for phase 5 - what do I need someone identify shorter term goals else to facilitate so that I that are more achievable. can move forward What we‟ve always tried to do with the postdocs I now have a path that I [in Edinburgh] is say would like to follow 'look this is your career and it‟s your responsibility'. I would see this [RDF] as a barometer...to give me a bit The RDF “…identified areas for more clarity about what areas I me that I needed to hone and could develop and what might really made me think about my be most important. It‟s career development. I‟ve something I could keep highlighted things now that I returning to know I need to do. It put career development back into the forefront of my mind as it can often slip back when you‟re engaged in what you‟re doing day to day.
- 20. Articulating your evidence Pick a descriptor Articulate skills (STAR) Encourage better answers Critical & constructive feedback Understandable? Confident? Image used: Waffle? http://www.flickr.com/photos/bujiie/5440377935/ Jargon? Improvements?
- 21. STAR Situation How, when, where, with whom? Task Describe the situation or the task you were faced with Action What action did YOU take? Result What results did you achieve/conclusions did you reach/learn from the experience?
- 22. Action planning introduction Where am I now? Where Taking do I action want to be? How will I What’s measure my stopping progress? me? How do I get there?
- 23. Career prospects Job clip exercise Browse through a large selection of job adverts Pick the jobs that attract you or stand out Look at 1, 2 or 3 grades higher than yours Look for common features What are the required/desirable characteristics Use your networks / trainers / careers advisors Arrange job shadowing Get a mentor Ask your friends / family / colleagues www.vitae.ac.uk/wdrd, www.vitae.ac.uk/career stories
- 24. Further information RDF: www.vitae.ac.uk/rdf RDS: www.vitae.ac.uk/rds RDF profiles: www.vitae.ac.uk/rdfprofiles RDF Professional Development Planner and screencast: www.vitae.ac.uk/rdfplanner Contact: rdf@vitae.ac.uk Research staff blog: www.vitae.ac.uk/rsblog Vitae NW Hub: Email: nwhub@vitae.ac.uk Twitter: twitter.com/vitaenwhub Blog: vitaenwhub.posterous.com/ Website: www.vitae.ac.uk/nwhub
Editor's Notes
- Introducemyself and my involvement in the RDF
- Short session with lots to cover. Going to open a lot of doors today but your responsibility to investigate further and close them.
- Stand up Stay standing if you have heard of PDP Stay standing if you review your skills when you are applying for a new job/course or before a review meeting Stay standing if you have ever completed some kind of personal development record/planning Stay standing if you look at this regularly, say every 3 monthsIf anyone is still standing ask them why they do thisLike everyone else, I’m guilty of letting professional development (and maintenance of a record of that development) fall by the wayside. Thisworkshop will hopefully help you to be more proactive in your PDP and achieve more as a result.
- Gathering evidence of learning experiences and achievementReflecting on learning experiences and achievementIdentifying new learning needs and creating development plansReviewing progress towards the achievement of goals setWe do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience (Dewey)Reflection in learning and professional development: theory and practice 1999 (Jennifer A. Moon)
- Inyour small groups, spend 5 minutes discussing the possible benefits of engaging with PDP. Feedback 3 from each group to plenary.
- Many employers now value ‘learning agility’ as a core competency.Research has shown that reflective practice can lead to deeper levels of learning and is a central element of effective CPD (Barrett, 2004a). Achievement levels can be raised through engaging with reflection and the associated processes of self-evaluation, action planning and goal setting (Becta, 2007).
- Whatskills, knowledge, behaviours does a successful researcher have?In groups of 6, 3 minutes to list as many ‘things’ as you can on the post it notes and put them up on the wall. Have a look at what other groups have put. Common themes? Funny examples?Being successful as a researcher requires you to think carefully and strategically about your skills, objectives and the areas in which you need to developWe went through a similar process to this in our creation of the Researcher Development Framework
- We asked that question in semi-structured interviews with over 100 experienced researchers (mostly profs and PIs). The RDF was the result of that research.The RDF has been designed to help you plan, promote and support your personal, professional and career development. It was developed by you for you.The project began with an initiative at the 2008 Roberts Policy Forum. Vitae pulled together a working group in March 2009 and the project got underway.How was the RDF created?Empirical data from analysis of audio-recorded,.Everyone was asked to identify what they thought was important for a research career.Representative sample: range of experiences, institution types, geographical context, disciplines and demographics.Results: > 1000 characteristics and variants, clusteredinto common groups’This provided the core of the framework – then consulted all the stakeholders who have a view on researchersCross-referred results with other competency type frameworks, expert and specialist input – Research councils, careers, RIN, UCU Built a larger picture of what is means to be a researcher. What does the end result look like?
- 4 domains which form the strategic RDS12 sub-domains63 descriptorsUp to 5 phases of development for each descriptor.Need to consider all of these areas – BUT they may not all be relevant to you or at a specific point in time.Careers like people, move on.
- You’ve looked at the kind of skills you currently have but what about what you need to be successful? This could be within or outside academia depending on where your future lies. This is what the RDF invites you to think about. Consider a bigger vision of what it means to be a researcher.
- 8 minute video introducing the RDF and how to get the most from the planner
- Choose your areas for self-assessment or what you are interested in developing further e.g. If I wanted to assess how capable I am at identifying opportunities for application of my research…
- Here are the 5 developmental phases for the descriptors I ticked. The phases contain the language you can use to articulate your capabilities within and outside academia. Have a read of the phases and see which relates best to your current capability and which relates to where you want to be. Don’t be too ambitious for this, its important to choose a target that is reachable in the next couple of years, not the next 10 years.Using the STAR approach may help you to add specific evidence e.g. don’t just put ‘I am familiar with a wide range of methods’, put ‘I have a good working knowledge of x methodology including use of a, b and c (example methods) in y (situation where you used the methods)’
- From here you can go through the same process for domains B, C then D. Alternatively, you can press report to complete your planning for these descriptors.
- When you click the report button, the spreadsheet imports all of your phase selections and evidence entered.Now you are prompted to make an action plan about how you aim to reach your target phase for development. Enter in the relevant fields information about how you might develop in this area e.g. training course, peer advice, learn from supervisor, practice on your own. Consider your first steps in development as well as your ultimate goal. Have SMART objectives and clearly define each step along the way. How are you going to review and measure your development? When are you going to take action by? What will you do in the next week, next month, next quarter, long term?This report can be printed at any time and will include the date so you can use it in discussions with your PI, careers advisor, trainer etc. By going into these meetings proactively, you are more likely to find them beneficial. Research has shown that reflection improves performance too so even if you just use this for your own purposes, you should start to see benefits.The final step is to save this version, we would recommend you include the date in the filename e.g. RDF 06-04-2011.xls. You can then keep successive versions of the (name of tool) to track your development over time.
- 10 researchers piloted using the excel tool to assess their skills and plan their development. Here are some of their thoughts.
- As well as for your own planning purposes, the evidence you record will help you get a job in the future.In threes, take turns to pick a descriptor from the RDF and tell your partner your evidence for skills in that area. Try using the STAR approach to help you. Give examples, think about the words you use. Your partner needs to ask questions to encourage better answers, and give critical and constructive feedback. They may suggest examples from their own experience. How understandable, how confident, how it could be improved, generalised? What would employers be interested in? Transferable to different sectors? Solid evidence or waffle?Permission to give and receive feedback! (raise hands)As a group, your task is to get the person “in the evidence chair” to the best possible articulation of their skills in that area. Stamp out jargon! Interrupt each other to keep it concise and relevant. Don’t let anyone be sidetracked (esp. into moaning!)Make your own notes – good examples and approaches, anything to avoid. We’re making this exercise compact, it’s to get you thinking and swapping ideas and feedback, to do it properly you’ll need to continue in your own time another day. 5 mins per person, including feedback.Then swap round so the next person has a go, using a different skill.Now handout full RDF, the language in the phases can be used to articulate your skills and strengths clearly. Find the descriptor you just articulated your skills for and take a look at the phases. Does any particular phase resonate with your current skill level? Would you like to progress in this area? How might you develop? Take a couple of minutes to discuss in your groups ways in which you might develop further.
- Evidence for analytical skills I take an analytical and systematic approach to problems, looking for logical solutions on the basis of experience, novel ideas or colleague opinions.Situation:During my PhD, I was responsible for testing variation in patient samples for osteoarthritis. Task: To develop a more efficient method of testingAction:I designed, tested and optimised a novel method of determining genetic variation in patient samplesResult: The whole laboratory implemented my method of testing and we completed the testing 1 month earlier than expected.
- Action planning will help you achieve more. Choose another descriptor you are interested in developing and assess where you are now and where you want to be. Using the handout, assess how you are going to plan and execute your development in this area.Only got 5 minutes to do this so you may need to finish in your own time.
- How do you know what areas to develop and how to develop them?A good way of doing this is the job clip exercise.Use your networks, ask around to see what they think is needed for a job areaGet a mentorAsk your friends, family and colleagues about your strengths and areas you could develop. Introduce Johari window. Look into 360 degree feedback if you want to know even more.